Annapolis, MD – February 14, 2013 – The Chesapeake Regional Tech Council (CRTC) today announced the finalists for the upcoming 8th annual TechAwards 2013: Geek is the New Chic, honoring the region's rising tech companies, outstanding innovators and all-around top "geeks." For the four awards categories the CRTC received more than 40 submissions from a variety of accomplished technology businesses and individuals throughout the Annapolis-Washington-Baltimore region. A twelve-member selection committee examined the nominations and voted on the top contenders. Winners will be announced at the TechAwards event on the evening of March 14, 2013 at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport Hotel.

"What is most striking about this year's TechAwards nominees is how they reflect the regional diversity of the Annapolis-Washington-Baltimore tech community," said CRTC selection committee chair Meredith Allen of TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. "Each year, the awards draw the region's most innovative and successful companies and tech leaders. In the spirit of CRTC's mission to advance technology with the exchange of ideas, expertise and business opportunities, we are excited to bring the area’s tech community together in celebration of this year's TechAwards finalists."

In addition to the nominated categories, special 2013 awards were appointed by the Selection Committee to honor several exceptional companies and individuals:

The Legend's Circle Company awarded to Sourcefire, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIRE), a world leader in intelligent cybersecurity solutions headquartered in Maryland that is transforming the way global large to mid-size organizations and government agencies manage and minimize network security risks.

The Rising Star awarded to WebMechanix, a Columbia, MD based Internet Marketing firm that concentrates on generating Snowballing ROI for its customers.

The Future Innovator awarded to Alyssa Reiman, a South River High School senior and leader of the Robotics team.

The Legend's Circle awarded to U.S. Senator for Maryland, Barbara A. Mikulski.

CRTC Executive Director Kris Valerio stated: "We are honored to recognize Senator Barbara Mikulski as the 2013 Legend’s Circle Individual. Senator Mikulski has been a long standing advocate for technology in the state of Maryland. In particular, she is committed to making Maryland the epicenter of cyber security. Her technology goals are to promote scientific research, increase number of students earning STEM degrees, and make Maryland a leader in science and innovation. It is this spirit of innovation that makes her the ideal recipient of the 2013 Legend’s Circle Individual Award.”

The TechAwards 2013 finalists and categories include:

The Tech Company of the Year Award is awarded to an enterprise that has proven its dedication, vision and ability to work with a sustained, strategic business plan and to steadily grow into a prominent player by in the Annapolis-Washington-Baltimore area's tech industry. Finalists include:

Dataprise provides IT services for growing businesses in the Mid-Atlantic area, specifically on-site, help desk, cloud, consulting and infrastructure services. Support365 is their most popular product – giving business the suite of services they need to keep their technology running.

A new breed of agency, Mindgrub Technologies fuses creative and technical expertise in Mobile Application Development, Web Development and Social Media. They find and implement technology solutions for enterprises with technologies such as iPhone/iPad, Android and Drupal that strive to be pioneers in information transfer.

Orbis Technologies, Inc. provides world-class strategic technology services to organizations with critical mandates, including national security and Department of Defense endeavors. Orbis possesses an elite team of subject-matter experts who help clients assess, optimize, and advance their technology portfolio in the most sensitive security environments.

The Innovator Award is awarded to a company that best exemplifies the entrepreneurship and innovative style it takes to keep the technology industry cutting-edge and forward moving. Finalists include:

AirPatrol offers a suite of location-based security systems that identify, monitor and manage mobile devices on wireless and cellular networks. AirPatrol mobile security products can determine specific device compliance with security policies and actively enforce policies by limiting or modifying a device’s capabilities while it is within the secured zone.

A new breed of agency, Mindgrub Technologies fuses creative and technical expertise in Mobile Application Development, Web Development and Social Media. They find and implement technology solutions for enterprises with technologies such as iPhone/iPad, Android and Drupal that strive to be pioneers in information transfer.

Spotkick has built a Security-as-a-Service framework and app store for open source cyber security apps. Spotkick is making security easier by building a community and online security platform around security measurement, analytics, and data.

The Best Place to Work Award recognizes a company that fosters a spirit of innovation and creativity in its employees, provides benefits that encourage employee work/life balance and works to inspire greatness in its employees. Finalists include:

Founded in 2004, DoublePositive is a performance-based online marketing company serving lead buyers, lead sellers and direct response advertisers. With headquarters in Baltimore and satellite offices in Phoenix, the company specializes in online search and display, mobile pay-per-call, lead generation and telephone transfers.

Plan B Technologies, Inc. (PBT) is an IT solutions and professional services provider with expertise in storage area networking, backup, recovery and archiving, security and network infrastructure, Microsoft solutions and cloud virtualization solutions for infrastructure, applications, and desktops. PBT delivers a complete lifecycle of professional services including project management, education, consultation, assessment, design, planning, deployment and support and staff augmentation.

Since 1994, The Squires Group, Inc. (TSGi) has been dedicated to serving the Mid-Atlantic region with expert ERP and IT staffing solutions. Their systems integration partners and commercial clients have continued to turn to them for their ability to attract expert local ERP and expert IT consultants–and to rapidly assemble regionally-based project teams with proven track records.

The Woman in Tech Award honors an individual who best exemplifies the outstanding contributions made by women in advancing technology in industry, business and society. Finalists include:

Kimberly Brown, founder and CEO of Amethyst Technologies, has more than 15 years of experience in the biotechnology compliance industry. Kimberly developed a software program that enabled management of equipment for use in vaccine development, turning a 15-minute task into 3 minutes. The software has evolved extensively since 1998 and has grown to include a web-based version, RFID and many other features. Amethyst Technologies’ specialties also include GMP certification for biotechnology labs. Many of their clients are major military or federal laboratories.

Camille Curro is the founder and CEO of Curro Industries, Inc., an Annapolis based IT consulting firm with an established track record of providing advanced IT solutions for small businesses. Camille began her IT career in 1995 and has earned certifications in Windows NT, 2000, 2003 and 2008 that have enhanced her ability to do what she and her firm do best: Helping small businesses find affordable solutions to their IT needs, especially those without the budget for a full-time IT staff.

Dr. Carole Teolis is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of TRX Systems. TRX Systems, Inc. is an award winning developer of NEON — a unique indoor navigation technology that has solved the difficult problem of locating, mapping and tracking people when they are inside buildings where GPS is not available and in outdoor urban areas where GPS is often unreliable. The company is a leader in the growing indoor navigation market and recently received funding from Motorola Solutions Ventures.

Event Details:

The theme for the 8th annual program is Geek is the New Chic. Winners will be announced at the event to be held March 14th, 2013 from 5:30 to 9:00 pm at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport.

Tickets:

Tickets are now on sale and will be $120 for CRTC members and $140 for non-members up until March 12th. Tickets purchased at the door will be $150 as available. Tables of 10 are available for $950. Registration, sponsorship information and additional details are available at: http://www.chesapeaketech.org/techawards

Founded in 1992, the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council (CRTC) energizes and propels the advancement of technologies with the exchange of ideas, expertise and business and partnership opportunities. The CRTC is a resource for visibility, connections, knowledge and education for technology companies in and around the Annapolis-Washington-Baltimore area, attracting new technology companies to the region and helping emerging technology companies grow and prosper in this increasingly dynamic environment. The CRTC is a non-profit membership organization supported by a grant from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (MD DBED) and a grant from the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC) and enabled by membership and annual sustaining sponsorship. More than 270 businesses from the Annapolis-Washington-Baltimore area are members of the council, including many of the area’s well-known leading technology companies.